1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to casino games, and more particularly to a method of playing a casino card game.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
The legal gaming industry has enjoyed extraordinary growth both in the United States and abroad. It has been estimated, for example, that from 1982 to 1996 the domestic gaming industry experienced a compound annual growth rate of 11.2%, to $47.6 billion in revenues. Moreover, the percentage of households from which someone visited a casino to gamble increased from 17% in 1990 to 32% in 1996, representing over 36 million households and 176 million visits, according to Harrah""s 1997 Survey of Casino Entertainment.
This increase in gaming demand results in part from the greater public acceptance of legal casino gaming. For example, research conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Inc. in 1996 found that 92% of U.S. adults view casino gambling as an acceptable form of entertainment for themselves and others. This acceptance is reflected not only by the dramatic number of domestic jurisdictions in which casino gaming under one form or the other is now permitted, but also by the many foreign jurisdictions which have either legalized casino gaming or expanded it in scope in the recent past. Significant foreign gaming jurisdictions now include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, The Netherlands, and various South American, Asian and Eastern European nations.
The growth of legal gaming has at the same time resulted in a huge increase in the number of gaming machines, among them a host of video poker and other games as well as more traditional slot machines. Gaming machines are now by far the most popular form of gambling. At the major Nevada and New Jersey casinos, for example, they account for approximately two-thirds of total gaming revenues. Such gaming machines, along with traditional casino table games (e.g., Craps or Blackjack), can be more accurately controlled with the help of technologically innovative products and systems.
Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide unique improvements to existing casino table games that will instill further growth in the legal gaming industry.
As a leisure time activity, poker and other card games have fascinated the public for years. A deck of cards, a playing surface and a few participants are all that is needed to provide a recreational few hours away from the stress and strain of daily life. Five or seven card poker is a game that almost everyone knows how to play and many games have been developed using the same basic priority or rank order of winning poker hands: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High card(s) in Hand.
For one reason or another, it has been difficult to adapt the rules of poker into a casino table game in which each player plays against the house. In a conventional poker game, a plurality of players are each dealt a poker hand by one player who acts as the dealer. The player with the highest hand based on the established priority of poker hands wins. Each player in turn deals a hand as the game continues. It is not unknown to introduce wagering into the game, generally through the use of tokens or poker chips, which may or may not have a monetary value.
Many places, as noted above, have legalized gaming and poker is one of the games of chance that is offered in both casinos and cardrooms. In a conventional cardroom poker game, the house provides a dealer, the playing cards, the table and chairs but does not play a hand. The house collects a nominal percentage of each player""s bet (the xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d) which compensates the house for providing the facilities to the players. Alternatively, the house may charge each player a set amount per hand or for a specified length of time, say one-half hour. Each player is competing not against the house, but against all the other players with the highest hand winning the total of all the wagers made on that hand.
Many people do not like to play cardroom poker because each player is competing against his fellow players, not against the house. Many people would rather attempt to win money from an impersonal source, the house or the casino, rather than from their fellow players with whom they may be acquainted.
Accordingly, it,is a second object of the present invention to provide a cardroom like poker game which is played against the house in legalized gaming establishments.
Cardroom poker also does not offer any bonus payments for particularly good hands. While a Royal Flush is a rare occurrence and generates a thrill for any poker player, the player collects the same total wager that he would have collected if all he needed to beat the other players was Three of a Kind.
Another conventional form of live table poker is known as xe2x80x9cCaribbean Stud(trademark)xe2x80x9d. Caribbean Stud is a fast-paced, exciting game on its own. However, casino operators have found that adding the dimension of progressive jackpot payoffs creates further excitement and provides an additional incentive to play. Many slot and video poker players shun live gaming because rules are complicated or the games require too much concentration. Conversely, Caribbean Stud does away with much of that. Five cards are dealt face down to each player. The dealer gets four cards down and the last card up. If a player thinks his or her hand can beat the dealer, another wager in addition to the ante bet is made. Winning players are paid for their call wager.
Accordingly, it is a third object of the present invention to provide a method of playing a card game which involves one or more players and easy-to-understand rules, and can be played in legalized gaming establishments, against the house.
Each player can make a progressive side bet in Caribbean Stud, in addition to the regular ante, prior to the start of each game. For example, various means and methods for playing Caribbean Stud are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 (Suttle et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,041 (Jones et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,405 (Jones et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,104 (Jones et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,973 (Jones et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,893 (Jones et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,341 (Jones et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,216 (Jones), each of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other forms of progressive jackpots are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,077 (Jones), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,364,105, 5,577,731 (Jones), U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,485 (Jones et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,961 (Acres et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,304 (Acres et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,183 (Acres et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,882 (Acres et al.), each of which is also incorporated herein by reference.
If a player stays in the hand after the deal and has a flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush or royal flush, he or she wins all or part of the progressive. Even if the dealer beats the hand, the player can still win progressive cash. Like conventional SafeJack(trademark) tables distributed by Mikohn Gaming Corporation, Las Vegas, Nevada, monitored Caribbean Stud tables such as the Mikohn Caribbean Stud table can be equipped with an articulate dealer control panel that handles all aspects of the progressive game. Hard meter and security key functions are built right into the panel. Moreover, up to 256 tables can be linked to such progressive systems for gigantic progressive payouts. As easy as they may seem, Caribbean Stud casino card games of the likes described herein above, nevertheless, require the adoption of new sets of rules which may be unfamiliar to players of all levels of experience.
Accordingly, it is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a method of playing a card game which is fast-paced, potentially lucrative, and takes advantage of otherwise well known, easy-to-understand rules.
A method of playing a card game according to a first embodiment of the present invention comprises the general steps of dealing a first hand, consisting of a first predetermined number of cards, to one or more players, requiring each of the one or more players to elect whether or not to play a second hand, comparing each of the first hands to determine whether or not they constitute a winning hand; dealing a second hand consisting of a second predetermined number of cards, comparing each of the second hands using a predetermined ranking as a criterion for comparison to determine a winning hand, and designating as a winner each player who had a winning first hand and/or a winning seconds hand. The first predetermined number of cards preferably consists of two cards and the first hand, thus, constitutes a Blackjack hand. The second predetermined number of cards preferably consists. of a number of cards, in addition to the cards drawn by each player for the Blackjack hand, to make, up a poker hand. Each player is required to place a bet before each step of dealing the first and second hands, and they are paid after the step of designating winning players. Such step of paying the winning player(s) includes the step of paying the winning player according to the odds set forth in a predetermined table depending upon the poker rank of the winning hand(s).
According to a second embodiment of the present invention, a subsequent side bet may be placed on a progressive jackpot by those players electing to play the second hand in addition to the first hand. Winning such progressive jackpot or losing their side bets preferably depends on a predetermined ranking of the poker hands dealt.
The above and other objects, advantages, and novel features according to the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description thereof, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: